Attendees at tradeshows, trade conventions, and similar events tend to collect a substantial amount of literature, samples, and other items provided by vendors displaying their goods and services at the event. To accommodate these items, some vendors, and usually the tradeshow sponsor itself, will provide simple plastic bags into which collected items can be placed for convenient carrying. Sometimes these bags are printed with the trademark or service mark of a vendor providing the bag so that the bag doubles as a medium for promotional advertisement.
While simple plastic bags are distributed by the thousands at tradeshows and serve their purpose of providing a convenient carrier for articles collected at the show, these simple bags embody certain inherent problems and shortcomings. For example, while the bags typically are used by patrons at the show itself, they usually are simply discarded immediately after show when the materials carried therein are taken out and filed. In addition, any vendor advertisements that may be printed on the bags have a diminished impact because the bags, when carried, are positioned at about knee level such that advertisements printed thereon are not readily visible. This is particularly true in large crowds common at tradeshows and conventions where the mere closeness of the individuals obscures any promotional ads printed on carried bags.
Another problem with carried plastic bags at events such as tradeshows is that they necessarily engage one hand of a user. This is particularly inconvenient since the attendees at tradeshows usually need to exchange business cards, fill out information forms, test certain displayed products at the show, and otherwise engage in activities that require use of their hands. When engaging in this activity, the plastic bag usually is either slid up the user's arm to the elbow or placed on the floor. Clearly, either alternative is inconvenient and placing the bag on the floor results in a substantial instance of lost materials.
Finally, attendees at tradeshows and conventions often carry personal items with them such as cameras, sunglasses, and the like. It is inconvenient to place these personal items in a plastic carrying bag along with all of the materials collected at the show because, when the items are needed, one must rummage through the bag to find them. In addition, sunglasses, camera lenses, and other delicate surfaces can become scratched or otherwise deteriorated by rubbing against the promotional material and samples within the bag.
Thus, there exists a continuing and heretofore unaddressed need for an improved container for carrying items collected at tradeshows and conventions. During normal use, the container should securely contain all the brochures and samples collected at a convention. In addition, it should provide means for storing personal items such as sunglasses and cameras in a safe easily accessible way. The container should leave a user's hands free and, during normal use, should display printed promotional advertisements at or near eye level rather than knee level so that the ads can be more effective. The container should be reusable for other purposes after the show so that the printed advertisements thereon can have continued effect. Finally, the container should be made of biodegradable material so that, when disposed, it does not adversely impact the environment. It is to the provision of such a container that the present invention is primarily directed.